Tuttlingen/Stuttgart – Almost 200,000 euros will flow into the further establishment and expansion of KIM-Labs in the Black Forest-Baar-Heuberg region: The consortium recently received the funding decision from the Baden-Württemberg Minister of Economic Affairs, Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut. During the project phase, information series and conventions are planned, among other things, to reflect on the topic of "artificial intelligence" from the perspective of researchers and users.
The joint project with consortium leader MedicalMountains GmbH and the partners TechnologyMountains eV, Hahn-Schickard Society for Applied Research eV and Furtwangen University has been expanding the digitization offer in the Black Forest-Baar-Heuberg region since April 2020. KIM-Labs makes it possible to discover potential applications in various, mixed-sector institutions and exemplary companies, to develop them further in a test environment, to consolidate them and to break them down to the individual requirements. The focus is on a wide range of offers in order to create a low-threshold entry point into the topic of AI for companies, says MedicalMountains project manager Britta Norwat: "With the consortium, we serve almost all industries and fields of application in the region." As a cross-sectional technology, the use of artificial Intelligence "one of the most powerful triggers for innovation". KIM-Labs opens up the chance to get to know the full potential.
AI thrives on digital networking - the utilization of dialogue and discussion. This will be possible, among other things, at two "AI Conventions" in 2023 and 2024. "The format brings together experts from industry and research, users and interested parties," Britta Norwat predicts. "The personal exchange of thoughts and ideas on planned and implemented projects, empirical values and future developments is a valuable component of KIM-Labs." The competencies of the project partners are incorporated, others are added: the Digital Future Center Allgäu is at the KI Conventions -Oberschwaben and cyberLAGO eV on board. “With this collaboration, we are expanding our horizons. Not only in terms of content, but also in real terms beyond our regional borders.” Other projects within the framework of the project include public AI talk days and information series – but also the development of a demonstrator for waste sorting. Overall, topics such as hydrogen, circular economy and resource management will take up a lot of space.
The Baden-Württemberg Minister for Economic Affairs, Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut handing over the funding notifications. The aim of the AI labs is to get economically viable AI solutions into use even more quickly, "in order to strengthen the competitiveness of our medium-sized companies". Artificial intelligence offers huge potential for added value. "If we want to benefit from this growth, 'AI made in Baden-Württemberg' must continue to establish itself as a brand and the commercialization of AI must continue to be promoted."
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As part of the "AI action program for medium-sized companies", the Ministry of Economics, Labor and Tourism Baden-Württemberg is funding regional AI labs in Baden-Württemberg with 3.1 million euros. After a pilot project initiated in 2019, a new call was launched in February 2022. 16 regional AI labs can be funded. The operators also make a financial contribution to the implementation of the AI labs.
Further information on KIM-Labs (Artificial Intelligence Mountains Labs) at https://medicalmountains.de/projects.
